1214
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The Battle of Bouvines July 27 establishes France as a major European military power, brings Flanders under French domination, gains the imperial crown for Frederick of Sicily, and ruins John Lackland of England. A great anti-Capetian alliance formed by John with the emperor Otto IV fields an army of 6,000 cavalry and 18,000 infantry; the counts of Boulogne and Flanders participate along with most of the Flemish, Belgian, and Lorraine feudal nobility, but this Anglo-Imperial force suffers defeat near Tournai at the hands of 7,000 professional cavalry and 15,000 infantry fighting for Philippe II Augustus in alliance with young Friedrich, who will be crowned emperor in 1220. William Longsword, 3rd earl of Salisbury, leads the right wing of the allied army and is captured (an illegitimate son of the late Henry II, he will be exchanged for a French prisoner and be back in England by May of next year). The Anglo-Imperial army loses 170 knights and many infantrymen, Philippe II Augustus's casualties are light, and his decisive victory dashes English hopes of regaining territory in northern France. Friedrich, now 19, has been king of Sicily since age 3 and was married at 14 to the daughter of Aragon's Alfonso II (she was the widow of Hungary's late Emeric).
King John (Lackland) imprisons his queen, Isabella of Angoulême, at Gloucester, where she gives birth to a daughter, Isabella (see 1216).
Scotland's William the Lion dies at Stirling December 4 at age 71 after a 49-year reign in which he has established a Scottish Church independent of the English Church and subject only to the see of Rome. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old son, who will reign until 1249 as Alexander II.
The German Palatine becomes part of Bavaria following Otto II of Wittelsbach's marriage to 13-year-old Agnes, daughter and heiress of Heinrich I, count Palatine of the Rhine (see 1209). Duke Otto gains sovereign privileges in Heidelberg and other parts of the ancient duchy of Franconia west of the Rhône.
Castile's Alfonso VIII dies at Burgos October 6 at age 59 after a 56-year reign in which he has maintained close ties to Aragon and resisted Muslim Almohad invaders. His eldest son is still only 15 but will ascend the throne in 1217 and rule until 1252 as Ferdinand III.
The Latin emperor Henri of Hainaut forces the Nicaean emperor Theodore Lascaris to sign a treaty at Nymphaeum that defines the borders between their two realms (see 1208); Theodore cedes the northwestern portions of Asia Minor to Henri, who has allied himself through marriage with the Bulgarian czar Boril, but he will soon annex much of the territory of Trebizond (see 1216).
Genghis Khan captures the Chinese town that will become Beijing (Peking) (see 1211; 1216).
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